


if i told you

by plastromeme



Category: Avengers: Endgame (2019), Avengers: Endgame (Movie) - Fandom, Endgame (2019), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Autistic Stephen Strange, Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Established Relationship, Hurt No Comfort, M/M, POV Tony Stark, bc marvel seriously needs to learn that 'background character is gay' is not how diversity works, canon compliant except it's gay now, let me be the first to say that thanos idealogy sucks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-27
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2020-02-07 07:55:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18616405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plastromeme/pseuds/plastromeme
Summary: “14 million futures, and you saw only one that worked. What happens?”“If I told you, it wouldn’t happen.”





	if i told you

His hands are shaking as he lands before Strange.

 

This battle is still waging on, their friends and family continuing to fight so the two of them can have this moment. It’s all he can ask for, in the end, and it takes all of his willpower not to start crying like he had when Peter found him. 

 

“Stephen,” he tries to say, voice cracking halfway through. Pure relief floods through him as Strange grabs his hand, putting his other on top of it. It was their little way of saying  _ I’m here, it’s okay _ . 

 

He shouldn’t be reacting so strongly, he knows, just as he knew Strange would be resurrected along with all of the other people who were killed in a lonely instant. It had  _ worried _ him, though, not seeing Strange as soon as they came back, but not too surprising. If their roles were reversed, he would’ve opened a portal straight to Strange, armies that could help be damned. 

 

Of course, this is probably and hopefully all according to Strange’s 1 in 14 million plan. 

 

“Tony,” Strange replies, removing a hand to caress his cheek, “we need to get back out there.” 

 

“Okay,” he says, and kisses him anyways. 

 

It’s a short kiss, all things considered, and trust him, he thinks it’s all too short. He tries to convey all the lost time he’s got to the other, while Strange puts forth mixed messages of love and sorrow, before pulling away and starting to fly back into the battlefield. 

 

“Wait,” he calls, snapping a hand around Strange’s wrist. “14 million futures, and you only saw one that worked. What happens?”

 

Strange’s eyes are blank, the way they go when he’s trying to hide something, and he can’t help but dread the worst.  _ Please, not the kid again _ , he thinks to himself, and remembers the little girl he’d adopted shortly after the Snap,  _ Morgan be safe _ . He doesn’t think he can lose either of them, not again by Peter’s standards.

 

“If I told you,” Strange says, pulling him out of thought, “it wouldn’t happen.”

 

“Then let’s get going,” Tony grins, his helmet back on in a flash. 

 

The battle is gruesome and everyone gives their all. There’s a whole hot potato thing going on with the Starknlet (and yes, he calls it that, even if his team refuses to), Carol  _ absolutely _ kicks ass on the enemy spaceship, and Thanos beats him up so many times he can hardly move. 

 

A crazy idea forms in his head, and he turns to the makeshift dam Strange is putting up to confirm in. Strange turns his head, holds up one finger, his eyes and face completely blank.  _ He’s not trying to hide something _ , he realizes, dread filling him,  _ he doesn’t show sadness _ . 

 

He stands and, with the hope that this will end it all, rushes at Thanos. 

 

“FRIDAY, activate gravitational field,” he says under his breath, as a gauntlet pulls over the stones. 

 

“ _ Gravitational field activated, boss _ ,” the A.I. replies, like the wonder she is. 

 

The stones are trapped around his hand like planets orbiting a sun, and he watches as they move into place over the backside of his hand and snap on. 

 

Instantly, there’s pain, but there’s a sort of numbing to it, like the stones are wailing  _ stop, you don’t have to do this, you can turn back now and you’ll still live _ . He meets Thanos’s eyes, and he doesn’t have a single thought as he snaps his fingers. He feels no pity for the monsters that disintegrates before his eyes. 

 

His hand is shaking as he stumbles into Strange, energy spent and… just ready to  _ rest _ . 

 

“I’m sorry,” Strange whispers, a hand caressing the unscarred portion of his face. 

 

It’s hard to keep his opens, let alone focus on Strange, so he closes them, putting all of his effort into saying what he wants. “I love you,” he slurs. They are words he wanted to say before the Snap, before Strange was taken from him without a word exchanged. 

 

“I love you, too,” Strange’s voice cracks at the last word. 

 

Strange kisses him like it’s the end of the world, longer than their last kiss but not long enough. He can’t move, his eyesight is blurry, and he wishes more than anything for more time. More time for Morgan, for Peter, for Strange, and for the weird family the Avengers had made. 

 

His eyes close once more, and he can just  _ taste _ the death on his lips. 

 

He feels no pain as he relaxes. He feels nothing at all. 

 

“Mister Stark? Mister Stark! Tony,  _ dad _ ,  _ please _ …”

 

And then he’s gone. 


End file.
